St. Kitts or Nevis?
 

I'm considering St. Kitts for our next trip and am attracted to everything but the beaches. Noone is saying anything good about the beaches. Are th beaches in Nevis better and calmer and more clearer with whiter sand, or about the same as in St. Kitts? Also, how bad are the beaches in St. Kitts, really bad? And are there nicer clearer ones somewhere on the island? Also, we are going for 6 nights so would it be recommended to stay all in St. Kitts and go on day trips or divide it up on both islands?

The beaches are lovely. St. Kitts and Nevis are volcanic islands which make them very lush and green, and gives the sand the dark flecks that can make it seem tan/grey rather than bright white.

The water is clear and warm, and there is OK snorkeling but not as good as some other islands.

I think to get those long strands of bright white sand, you have to go to an island that is flat and more dry than St. Kitts/Nevis.

It all depends on your vision for your vacation. We've been going to St. Kitts and Nevis (now Nevis) since the early 1990s.

I have some photos that include a few beach pictures. If you're interested I can post the link to kodak galleries.

Thanks for your input! I would love to see your pics of the beaches!I'm not much of a snorkeler, but I am looking for clear, placid, seaweed-free water. Are there any beaches like that on these islands? Or does the tan sand make it look dark and not as clear?

Hi Shazaf,

Here is a link to some photos from 2007-2008. We stayed at the Hermitage so there are a lot of photos of the inn and also of the monkeys but you'll see a few beach photos interspersed.

P.S. None of the photos are touched up or changed!

And it would help to put the link!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3uq2oj

I love those 2 islands after 3 stays on each! While they are not the white sand beaches that you read about, they are lovely. The previous posters have very accurate comments about each island. Being sister islands, I love to split my time b/n both to get the best of both worlds. The beaches are fine, but the Atlantic side at the Marriott in St. Kitts can be rough for kids.

The pictures that CW posted give a good idea of the colour of the sand on both islands, although in the north of St Kitts the sand gets a lot darker. IMO the best beaches on St Kitts are on the south peninsula, namely Turtle Beach, Cockleshell Beach, Majors Bay, South Friars, Sandy Bank Bay, and if you move north to Frigate Bay, Timothy Beach is good too.

We stayed in a lovely villa really close to Turtle Beach, which we had virtually to ourselves most of the time, plus there was great snorkeling near the shore, see this link for pics:
http://turtlebeachhousestkitts.shutterfly.com/

I agree that CW's pictures give you a great idea of what the beaches are like, especially on Nevis. They're lovely, just not the neon blue water andf white sands of other islands.

Thank you all for all of your info, it's been so helpful! I really appreciate the slide shows! One question to Cariblover. You mentioned staying on Turtle Beach, are the sands really that white, and the water really that light blue? Also, the Turtle Beach Resort is great but booked and also very pricy, and we only have a week to go. Are there other places to stay there, and is Turtle beach a private beach?

Turtle Beach is a public beach, and like all others on St Kitts can be used by anyone. It's just that the company who own the restaurant and the cabins nearby make it look as if it is a prvate beach by putting a gate and a fence there.
Apart from the cabins which are very small and have one bed in them, the only places to stay on Turtle Beach are the privately owned villas there

CW...We are interested in the Hermitage,and wonder about your experience there.Did you pair it with another resort on St.Kitts ?WE would like to do that,but wonder where??

4carolina,

For more than ten years, we stayed in St. Kitts and took day trips to Nevis occasionally. The inn where we stayed changed hands and we found that we really didn't like it under the new owners so we switched to Nevis and to the Hermitage. So we now stay in Nevis and leave St. Kitts to day trips.

We really like the Hermitage. It has a friendly and warm atmosphere and, I think, some of the best food on the island. We like staying on higher ground (it's cooler and we've never been bothered by mosquitoes at the Hermitage) and renting a car to explore different beaches every day. The rooms are comfortable, furnished with antiques, but are not luxurious in the marble bathroom sense of luxury. All have porches or verandas with hammocks. Some of the rooms have small kitchenettes and all of the rooms have tea and coffee making equipment and refrigerators. It is family run and the staff is just lovely.

The monkeys come down to check out the mango trees early in the morning and then again about 5 or 6 in the evening.

I think dividing your time between the two islands is a good idea to give you a taste of two places. In St. KItts you could stay somewhere in the Frigate Bay area where being near or on the beach would give you a different experience from staying upland (if you chose to stay at the Hermitage).

Both islands have good restaurants both upscale and casual. Be glad to answer any other questions you have.

Thank you so much for your most helpful reply.The Hermitage looks wonderful,and just the kind of place we would enjoy.I love the idea of dividing our time.....and wonder if you have any suggestions about places on the beach.Combining the 2 would be idyllic.I am eager for your suggestions !!!

Luxurylink.com has had several good auctions for the Hermitage, so if you're interested I would check there.

4carolina,

Two hotels on the beach in St. Kitts are Timothy Beach, a fairly basic hotel with rooms and studios with balconies next to South Frigate Bay beach, and the Marriott on the Atlantic side of Frigate Bay. I have not stayed at either so cannot give you any advice from personal experience.

You should look at the forum dedicated to St. Kitts: http://myislands.myeyez.net/forum/. There are reviews of the different properties and a lot of helpful posters who have stayed at both places.

I have stayed at Timothy Beach Resort previously on two occasions for two weeks each. We are returning for another two weeks this January.

I highly recommend this hotel. It is not like the Marriott and that is part of what is wonderful to me about it. It is smaller more personal and it has a brilliant location on the beach with sunsets from most rooms. We enjoy a one bedroom unit so that we have the kitchen, the great patio for sunsets at cocktail hour and the pull out sofa in teh living room for our son. We find the staff are excellent, the management fabulous and the easy access to all the amenities perfect!

Thank you Caribheart and cw for your thoughtful suggestions.TBR is popular on this board but gets poor reviews on Tripadvisor,which makes me a bit uneasy.Would you tell me a bit about room maintenance..Clean and neat,or what ??Simple is fine,but why all the negativity??
We love the possibility of splitting the week between an inland place like the Hermitage.or the other one that starts with O.......and a beach place !!Also,suggestions about car rentals.We are ready to reserve and await your wise advice.ALSO,"WE" are two women friends "of a certain age"who travel together !!!!You are the best !!

Forgot to mention,our plans are for 8 nights,late January/early February.Luxurylink looks like an extraordinary option,but we would have to WAIT,and gamble on their offerings.We would prefer to make our flight/land arrangements sooner,and be done with it.Any suggestions about how to book securely,soon...and save $$would be wonderful.

Wish I knew how to save money in Jan., Feb., and March but from my experience those are the busiest times in Nevis and I'm not sure they'd be offering rooms on luxury link during the time. I wouldn't want to bet on it! Write to them and see what offers they may have for your time period.

I think the TBR reviews on TA are pretty good on the whole. I think some of the bad reviews come from people who think that because it has "resort" in its name--it's going to be a smaller Marriott. I've never stayed there--just have read many reports from people who love it.

I've stayed at Timothy Beach as well. Our room was very nice, I think it was considered a studio, sort of had the bed in an alcove, but it was open to the living area. It did have a kitchen. The bathroom was nothing special, small, but it was clean.

I love the location. Nice views, easy access to beach bars and restaurants. Even the casino at the Marriott isn't a terribly long walk, if you're so inclined.